Fantasy baseball trading deadlines are right around the corner, time is slipping…slipping…slipping into the future and your fantasy baseball teams need to lose yesterday’s lunch or get off the pot. The worst feeling is coming within a few points of winning and pulling up short because you held too tightly to your players. In October, there won’t be an award for being 50 steals greater than everyone else while losing the championship by 1 point because you didn’t trade for power.

If you have a sizable lead anywhere, strengthen weak spots. For instance, you have a 15 save lead over your nearest competitor, but a 25 save lead over the pack. You see a trade partner for your Mariano, but they’re only willing to give you Ludwick. You try to convince yourself to do the trade, but decide Mariano is worth more. So in the end you fall 5 homers short of 1st place, but you’re 35 saves up on everyone. A Mariano in the hand is not worth two points in the standings. In one year leagues, now is not the time to be worrying about the intrinsic value of a player. Only worry about their value to your team.

Excess saves – chuck ’em for what you need. Have Bourn, Figgins and Morgan — well, I’m not sure how you’re even competing — but trade them for some power. You need to start acting now. There’s no time like the present… The present is a gift… Sleep with scratchy rear, wake with smelly finger… Fill in your own cliché. Just git r done!

Excellent points Grey. I’ll add that in H2H you can’t be afraid to dump guys who are obviously better (say Jason Bay for instance) for a guy who’s inferior but hot – say Luke Scott if he starts jacking off. Same goes for pitchers – especially in the playoffs. Two good starting matchups from Brian Duensing (he did some work for me in the playoffs last year) can make you $$$ instead of throwing an obviously better pitcher against a rougher lineup.

Good point on Joe Saunders. I’ve got a typical NY, “win now” mentality.

Sorry, one more: to make room for Haren, would you drop Hughes or Slowey? I know Slowey has been terrible (he was a little better yesterday) but Hughes has regressed and might be limited in terms of IP in Aug and Sept.

Looks like COL traded for a new finger for CarGo. He’s magically reappeared today. Maybe he’s just prepping to finally have a decent hitter hitting behind him starting tomorrow…the Polski is returning and according to the COL broadcast, he’s hitting 4th behind CarGo.

@Grey re: Delphic Oracle: She (I imagine her for some reason as a mustachioed lady) hung out in a cave in the mountains in ancient Greece and dispensed wisdom to all comers, some recos easier to parse than others (Croesus lost his empire because he misinterpreted her advice). Later research indicated her cave may actually have been home to a petroleum seep, and she was high on gas fumes all day, which lent her prophecies a certain vagueness. Of course, we’ve made plenty of advances in 2500 years–glue-huffing is much more sanitary, and Razzball advice is crystalline.

@Grey:
In regards to trading Posey in a keeper league Im looking for W, ERA and WHIP. What kind of pitcher should i look to help me at the tail end of the season. (currently in 1st and i have Santana to replace Posey) Also the pitcher i get in return i probably wouldn’t keep.
Thanks Again

Grey – are you going to do an analysis of what pitchers/hitters we should target come H2H playoff time? Some of us aren’t worried about making the playoffs – but very worried about what happens when we get there.

I’m sure I could do it myself, but why reinvent the wheel? Plus I’m lazy.

I have been trading away my sagnoff closers for hitters and I have a deal on the table for aardsma and axford for either Youk or Dunn, I am all set at first and third Miggy C and Longoria, I also have Teixeira at my corner infield spot. So I am thinking Dunn would be better because I can plug him in the OF if needed and not just util, Does this make sense or am I crazy?

In a keeper points league where pitchers are golden, usually going a couple rounds higher compared to standard leagues. I’m keeping Gallardo and Grienke right now, but I can get a lot for them from teams that are out of it. So basically, do you see any of the players below being in the top 15 or 20 next year, and/or not too far behind Gallardo or Grienke (which I’m only able to keep for one more compared to two with the guys below)? Thanks a bunch

That’s actually a very good idea and would be extremely helpful. I just hate that there’s about a 75% chance that two of the six playoff teams are going to be streamers. I don’t even want to think about how I’m going to manage that.

Nice, timely advice. With a 30 HR lead over my nearest roto competitor, I just traded Fielder, Prince of Solos (POS) for Mo Rivera. If I had 5 more saves in my league right now, I’d move from 8th in that category to 3rd. Enough to put me into 1st place by a few points, even without the help for my dismal ratios.

Finally sent Aaron Hill to the boneyard as well to pick up someone to boost my average. I’m sure I’ll miss the 4 hits he gives me every week, but I’ll survive.

I’m on the fence still, it just barely seems fair to me… I know Andrus is ranked well, so you think he will get hot again? I’m hesitant to give up Greinke when Andrus is still in his slump but the trade fills two holes, plus there’s no guarantee with Morneau coming back. Is it just barely fair or an advantageous trade?

@Grey: was just offered Borbon for Hammel in my roto OBP league. Borbon’s OBP stinks, so I have no interest.

The guy also has Morgan though. Would you give Hammel for Morgan? I can really use his SB and his runs wouldn’t hurt. I’m hurting in ERA & WHIP but I just picked up Mazzaro and have Webb on the DL who might give me a few good starts down the stretch (fingers crossed).

@Grey: Am I foolish for sitting J Weaver this week vs. Bos and Tex and putting in C Billingsley vs. SD and SF? I have J Johnson and C Hamels going twice as well. I figure Weaver has been so so lately and Bills is coming off of a complete game shutout with better match-ups… what would Grey have done I think to my self?

I know you said to sit Scherzer tonight, but does your opinion change when your opponent has F-Her and Haren going tonight, then Straus, Jaime, Cahill, Wainwright, and Niemann going in the next couple of days?

I’m way down in steals but Ellsbury is sitting on waivers in my league. Looks like he might be back soon. I could probably drop LaRoche or Pence to pick him up. I’m worried he won’t steal much when he gets back though. Do you think he will do enough stealing to justify the risk over the next couple months? Thanks Grey.

I’ve got Gordon Beckham, Nick Markakis, Matt LaPorta, Carlos Beltran and Angel Pagan but only three spots in which to play them. Positional eligibility isn’t a concern–I can afford to play the three best of those guys, period. Meanwhile, Andres Torres, Luke Scott, Joel Hanrahan and Brandon League are sitting in the free agent pool. My relievers could use an upgrade, especially considering the fact that my Octavio Dotel seems like he’ll be traded any day now. Are there any clear add/drops you’d make? H2H points league. Thanks!

@Grey:
And just like that, all the Razzballers who were cursing you under their breath for preventing them from playing Scherzer, feel all crunchy inside and know that THAT is why you don’t doubt the ‘stache.

Looks like Wieters took offense to my leaving him on the DL, alone and abandoned. That, or he got jealous that I was having a small affair with Jason Kendall.
@Grey:
Start of something for Grandy? Worth buying cheap quickly or not so much?

Oh and and the Diamondbacks managed to put an exclamation point on my rant so emphatic that its to the point where I’m about done with them after they so definitely proved my take correct by shunting off their only good arm for nothing. I’ll still tune in to watch guys like Upton and Reynolds but to make any sort of emotional (or financial) investment rooting for them is hard to justify.

Word is Perez loses the job and it seems like Wood is coming back soon.

Should i pick up a stop gap for Sean rod until my trade for zobrist comes through? I could complete the Rays trifecta and get Brignac but i might end up losing more at bats there? Other choices are Delwyn Young, Alcides Escobar, Ronny Cedeno, or JJ Hardy. Or I could hope S Rod gets some at bats between now and the trade update and grab N. Morgan so I have a guy off the bench that can get steals. Right now I’d have to bench Bay or Stanton to play him though…though with Quentin’s spottiness having a backup might be a good idea too.

Best move in Grey or anyone else’s opinion? (Will be getting A Gon and Zobrist soon)

Hey Grey,
I finally decide to sit Garza this week because he’s up against Detroit and NY and he has kinda sucked lately and what does he do? Well we all know what he did. He kicked me in my nether region. At least I had the smarts to start Mad Max. Yup, kicked again!

@Yankees2010 Thats why you start them if you got em, except for first starts back from the DL. If you play matchups you get burned by a sonofabench…I’d rather let the bad starts average out and not miss any good ones.

@Grey: Is MMD safe enough to play against lefties that I can drop Rolen? I just dropped Kouz to get Wieters off of DL (granted, I also have Montero…in a dynasty though…my team is oozing with upside, but I also have the old fart known as Abreu clogging my OF) I’m assuming I can drop Rolen for Random Holds Guy (to hold Mike Adams’s place, who is essentially two holds guys in one).

I’m worried about Dotel being traded though. How imminent is it and apart from Arizona (which I am avoiding entirely), where can I look for the next closer? Is League the next SAGNOF? (assuming an Aardsma trade…)